100 Flashes of Forever
by one sexy tribble
Summary: My entry for the Balthy 100 challenge. A series of one-shots based on multiple characters, mostly Balthazar and Veronica   because I love them . There will be spoilers. Rated T for now just cause. More info inside. Enjoy.
1. Arcana Cabana

A/N:

Here is my attempt at some one-shots for the Balthy 100. Maybe I'll get to all 100, probably not, and I am going to try to do them in order but I might end up skipping around. Different prompts will be based on different characters but mostly Balthazar and Veronica, because there just aren't enough of them. There will be spoilers. This is the first thing that I have posted in about a year so I hope that it's decent.

Here is my idea for prompt one, it's pretty sappy. Enjoy and please review if you like it.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Just love it.

**Arcana Cabana**

If Balthazar had learned anything in his life is was that anything could change over time. Even as little as ten years could make a great difference, especially in this century. The Arcana Cabana would be no exception. He walked down the familiar street stopping in front of the place where he had lived for several years. All traces of his store were gone, leaving only the empty shell of a building behind. It seemed almost lonely now, abandoned, but he didn't linger on the thought for to long. He was on a mission, and he knew he had to be quick. There was no telling what kind of trouble Dave would get himself into while he was gone.

Getting in was easier than he had ever expected. He didn't even have to use any magic. Whoever was currently renting the building had left the door unlocked. They obviously hadn't been in New York very long.

The place was completely vacant but for a few bare shelves and racks, and one long, unoccupied counter. Balthazar assumed that it had at a point been some sort of clothing store. The magical artifacts that had been once gathered here were gone, and if the urn was any evidence, they were probably spread throughout the city, possibly causing trouble for their new owners. He didn't really care. Most of the things that he had collected were completely useless to him, and he could make due without the rest. Anything of any real importance had been locked away from all eyes but his own.

He climbed down the stairs that led into the basement. The small room had once served as his living space. He had eaten here, slept here, studied here and dreamed about the future, as it could be if he managed to find the Prime Merlinian and destroyed Morgana. His bed and other personal items had been replaced with boxes of unused merchandise and signs that boasted "Big Sizes, Small Prices", and " A Hefty Girl's Heaven".

He couldn't help scoff and shake his head at the last one. _No wonder this place had gone out of business, _he thought.

He walked towards a bare patch of brick wall and crouched down in front of it. He used his power to open a hidden door and retrieved a small object wrapped in cloth. He pulled away the cloth and stared at the necklace that it had been hiding. It was perfectly intact just like he had left it. It was a relief to see it in one piece, after all it was over a thousand years old, and he had decided long ago that he wouldn't alter it with magic. She wouldn't have wanted that. He wanted it to stay just like this until the day that he could finally give it to her. He hoped that day would be soon.

He put the wall back and made his way back up the stairs. As he left the building, he took one last look at the old place. It was a bit sad letting go, it had been comfortable and familiar, but it hadn't really been home. No matter how long he spent in one place, it never felt like home. No place ever could be without her. She was all he wanted, all he needed, and he would give up the Arcana Cabana a hundred times over just to see her face again.

He placed the necklace in his pocket as started back the way he came, leaving behind one more piece of his past. He was one step closer to the day he would have her back in his arms again. One step closer to truly being home.


	2. Trousers

A/N: Prompt 2. This one is less sappy, and more fluffy. Includes Becky, Dave, Veronica and Balthazar and even a little Tank. Enjoy and please review if you like it.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Just love it.

**Trousers**

"Rebecca, I thought that you said this is where they kept the clothing for women."

Becky had been snapping pictures of all the cute clothes that she saw on her camera phone when she heard Veronica behind her. Her birthday was coming up and she decided that she needed to start dropping hints to Dave about what she wanted. Hints like pictures of red leather coats and black sequined handbags filling up his inbox. It wasn't that she expected him to get her anything, but she knew he would even if she told him not to. As far as she was concerned, he might as well know what she liked; she didn't trust him to pick something out on his own. Men had no sense of style, which was the very reason that Veronica was with her in the first place.

Upon realizing that his fiancé would need some sort of clothing other than her medieval garb, Balthazar's eyes had grown three sizes and he begun spouting a million excuses as to why he couldn't be expected to select a wardrobe for her. The most prominent of which was that he had no idea how to shop for a man in this century (a point which was driven home simply by looking at him) let alone a woman.

So Becky, being the good person that she was, volunteered to take Veronica to shop rather than letting Balthazar take her. The poor woman had suffered long enough.

"What did you say Veronica?" Becky asked putting the shirt that she was holding back on the rack and slipping her phone back into her pocket before turning around.

The sorceress was standing in front of a rack about a foot away. She wore her long hair down as usual and was dressed in a loose fitting blouse and prairie skirt that Becky had lent her. She had her arms straight out in front of her, holding what seemed to be a pair of grey slacks, and was staring at them with great intensity.

"You said that they had the women's clothing here," she repeated, "but these look like they were made for a man."

Becky couldn't help but giggle at the look of sheer confusion on Veronica's face.

"They're made to look like that Veronica, they're for a woman's suit."

"But why would a woman want to dress like a man? "

Becky shrugged, "it's an equality thing. Women wanted to be treated like men so they started dressing like them I guess. Women wear pants all the time. In fact we should get you some, but not those. Come on the jeans are over here."

Veronica was still confused, but put back the pants and followed Becky anyway. She didn't see the appeal of these "jeans" the people in this century wore. They looked uncomfortable and they didn't seem to be very durable. Even the brand new they were full of holes. But Becky seemed to know what she was doing so Veronica didn't bother with any more questions about the strange women's man clothing

Becky was exhausted by the time she made it to Dave's apartment for their study date. As soon as he had let her in she plopped down in the middle of his couch, severely disrupting the sleep of Tank who was sprawled out on the end. As the dog got up and toddled angrily away, Dave took his spot on the couch and laced an arm around his girlfriend.

"So shopping was that bad huh?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Not really at first. But then we found the store that sold all of the bohemian chic clothes. It's really to bad that she missed the 70's, she would have fit right in." she closed her eyes and leaned back against the cushion, "and I let her keep the skirt that I lent her, it'll feel right at home with the forty-seven others that she bought today."

Dave chuckled, "you couldn't get her to buy any jeans huh?"

"No! I had her try on at least twenty pairs and she hated every single one. She said they were falling apart of something like that. In fact out of all the clothes that we got her, she bought only one pair of pants."  
"Well Becky at least you made some progress right? And you prevented her from being exposed to Balthazar's horrendous taste."

Becky gritted her teeth and turned to Dave " I um… I wouldn't go that far."

"Why do you say that?" he asked. The look on her face suggested that she had witnessed something horrible, like a herd of baby rabbits being run over by a freight train, or worse, the contents of Balthazar's closet.

"Well…"

Balthazar was lounging on his bed waiting patiently for Veronica. She said that she had wanted to show him something that she had brought home with her, and she seemed rather excited about it. He was glad that she had enjoyed her shopping trip with Becky, and even more so glad he had been saved from attempting it himself.

"Alright Balthazar, you have to tell me what you think of this, and be honest with me."

She came out of the bathroom then, and Balthazar couldn't help but smile. The blouse she wore perfectly complementing her shape and skin color. But what really caught his attention were her pants. She wore a pair of loose brown trousers with a light stripe. He had always liked his pants, but now he realized that they looked a hundred times better on her. He got up quickly from the bed and walked to her.

"Have I mentioned today," she asked "how much I love you." and before she could answer he captured her lips in a kiss.

A/N: Couldn't remember exactly what Balthazar's pants looked like, and I really can't tell quite what color they are in the pictures I've found. If I have made some sort of error in their description that really bugs you, feel free to tell me. I will fix it. If you don't care what the hell his pants look like and just liked the story please leave me a review, let me know.


	3. Shoes

A/N: Here we go, prompt 3. This one was a bit hard for me because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the two previous prompts and with this one I was just kind of starring at the blank document going "Ahhhhh". All I could think writing this was "shoes, oh my god, shoes." Thank you Kelly. Luckily I saw the movie again today with my best friend, and so I had a bit more inspiration. This is the second night in a row that I have been up till three in the morning writing Sorcerer's Apprentice Fanfiction, and I think I might be starting to loose my mind so please bear with me. Hope you like it, and feel free to review. Reviews make me a happy panda.

Disclaimer: Seeing this movie more than once does not make it yours. I tried, and it didn't work.

**Shoes**

Dave didn't know why he even tried living a normal life. Every time things started going well for him, something happened. He was doing well in school, had gotten over all the mental problems that had been created after the Arcana Cabana incident, and even met Becky again after all these years, and what happened? Balthazar happened. He showed up with all his "I'm a sorcerer, you're my apprentice" mumbo-jumbo and blown any structure in Dave's life straight to pieces. What was worse was that Dave had gone right along with it. He hated himself for it but the truth was that the whole thing intrigued him. At the time, he felt kinda like Harry Potter.

He learned quickly however, that it was nothing like Harry Potter. Harry didn't have to clear his mind and focus his energy, he just had to wave a stick and mumble. Harry had seven years of magical training; Dave had a crash course in plasma bolts. Most importantly, Harry Potter didn't have to wear old man shoes.

God how he loathed those shoes. He wanted nothing more than to rip the damn things of his feet, throw them under a freight train, take a match to whatever was left them and then launch them off of the Empire State Building. Besides being completely atrocious, and hideously uncomfortable, they were the noisiest shoes that he had ever worn in his life. Every time he took a step they squeaked and whined, the sound digging deep into his brain cells. It wasn't long before the moans of the soles began to transform into some sort of shoe language. With every stride they seemed to say, "old man, old man, oooooold man".

It nagged at him all the way to NYU until finally he couldn't take it anymore!

"STOP!" he yelled stomping up and down, hoping that it would somehow put and end to the blasted things. After a moment he stopped, and breathing deeply slowly lifted his head to gaze at the room around him. At least thirty faces were starring back at him completely silent. He stood up straight then, knowing exactly what they all must be thinking of him at that moment. What the hell was he going to say?

"Um…there was a…a rock in my shoe. It was uh, just kinda bothering me, but I uh…it's better now. So you can all…you know, do whatever it was that you were doing. I'm uh, sorry to have disturbed you".

The faces turned away then, no longer interested with what he was doing, and he proceeded to slam his head against the nearest wall. He really could be an idiot sometimes. If he kept acting this way he could ruin any sliver of a reputation he had without any aid from the stupid shoes. Thank God Becky hadn't been there to see his outburst.

He stared down at the evil footwear, and if ever it was possible fir a pair of shoes to stare back, they did.

_Ok shoes_, he thought, _I give up. You win. Do what you want, kill my feet, torment me with your cruel words, just please whatever you do, don't act up while I'm around Becky. She probably already thinks I'm a freak. _

The shoes said nothing in reply, because they were shoes. Dave sighed, pushed himself away from the wall, and started making his way to class. He was going to have to start getting use to weird things like this if he was going to continue his training, and not loose his mind. He just had to realize that this wasn't going to be anything like he expected. He wasn't Harry Potter; Balthazar sure as hell wasn't Dumbledore, and the old man shoes were not, and never would be, on his side.


	4. Life

A/N: My entry for prompt 4! Yay! I've made it farther than I thought I would. I would like to just send a shout out and a thank you to everyone that reviewed! Your kind words make me happy and keep me writing, and love all of you for it. This chapter is set after the movie, and I hope that it makes you as happy reading it as it made me while I was writing it. Please enjoy and reviews are always welcome. Now with no further rambling by yours truly, here is some Veronica and Balthazar fluffyness!

Disclaimer: I know it's not mine; you can stop rubbing it in now Disney!

**Life**

Balthazar was sitting in his favorite armchair, gazing at his wife, Veronica, sleeping soundly in their bed next to him. About and hour had passed since she had finally drifted off to some very much-needed rest. She was understandably exhausted after twelve and a half hours of labor, with, as she had requested, no magical aid. It was just Veronica, a midwife, and hours of excruciating waiting on Balthazar's part, before a cry was finally heard, announcing that the first Blake child had been born. Balthazar couldn't help but smile as he switched his gaze from his wife to the bundle in his arms.

He had a daughter.

They had named her Daralis, which in their time had meant beloved. It was a perfect fit. Her parents already worshiped her, and she wasn't even three hours old yet. It amazed Balthazar that he could love someone so much after such a short time, but then again, Veronica had loved the child from the moment she realized she was expecting. She had talked to the baby, sang to it, and told it stories as it grew in her stomach. She had almost immediately started calling it Daralis, or Lissy for short, convinced that it was a girl from the start. She refused to even consider a single boys name, and shot Dave a glare that could turn human flesh to stone when he had jokingly mentioned always wanting to have a little brother. Blathazar was glad that she had been right.

Veronica opened her eyes to the sight of her husband cradling their newborn child, and her heart swelled with happiness. She loved this Balthazar, the sweet, gentle, caring Balthazar that was rarely seen by anyone but her. She had always known, through all his doubt and worrying, that he would make a wonderful father. And she clearly had been right.

She was still a bit sore, but she certainly wasn't in any critical danger like Balthazar seemed to think she was. Fully awake now, she pulled herself up into a sitting position against the headboard, catching the full attention of her husband. He looked at her scoldingly.

"You, my dear, should still be sleeping," he said. He tried to sound tough and commanding, but the concern in his eyes was unmistakable. He had become a better liar over the years, but she could still read him like a book.

"And you Balthazar my love," she said as sweetly as she possibly could, "need to stop worrying about me. I feel perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked, all macho pretenses fading, leaving only her compassionate husband. She smiled at him and nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, the infant in his arms began to squirm and fuss.

"Shhhh," Balthazar coed to the child, "it's alright sweetheart. It's alright". He stood from his chair and made the short trip to the bed. "I think she's sick of her old man. She wants her mother."

He sat on the bed next to Veronica and gently transferred the baby into her arms. She rearranged her position so that she could nurse their daughter, and felt Balthazar slip an arm around her shoulder, holding them both closer to him. Veronica couldn't remember when she had been happier than this in her entire life. This moment was pure bliss.

Balthazar sat and watched as his wife finished feeding Daralis, and then sang her to sleep. He took the baby form Veronica when she was done, getting up to put her in the bassinet so that his spouse wouldn't have to. He gently put her down, lingering only a moment to watch her dream before he crawled back into his bed.

"Thank you," he said to his wife, his eyes meeting hers, and his fingers finding their way to her long dark hair, "for everything you've given me. Your love, your life, and especially our daughter."

"I would give you the world if I could Balthazar, you know that."

"I don't want the world. My family is more than I could ask for. It's what has made my life worth living. I love you Veronica Blake."

"I love you too," she said, closing the distance between them and giving him a gentle goodnight kiss.

A/N: Well? What did you think? Idk how anyone else feels about it, but I felt the need to do a Balthazar and Veronica baby fic, because it was just too cute to pass up. I tried not to make Blathazar to mushy and out of character. I may have gotten a bit carried away, but I figure he has a huge soft spot for Veronica anyway, and when you add a baby, there really wasn't much stretching. In my opinion anyway. Please, if you enjoyed my fluff, leave me a review and tell me what you think. If you didn't like it, I suppose that you could still leave me a review and tell me it sucks, but that wouldn't be very nice. TTFN.

P.S. When I read this again today, I realized how many typo's I make at 2 in the morning. I am very sorry. They are fixed now. I hope.


	5. Death

A/N: Here it is, my idea for prompt 5. I'm warning you now, this one will be sad, but then again the prompt is death so I doubt any of you were expecting it to be about puppies and rainbows. Again thank you to anyone and everyone that was wonderful and reviewed. I literally eat reviews for breakfast. So please, if you like it, review so that I don't starve.

**Death**

Thirteen hundred years she'd been waiting. For centuries she was locked away, alone, and in agony, each passing moment equivalent to a lifetime in hell. Her soul was tormented, constantly at odds with the essence of the sorceress sharing her prison. It was an endless battle for survival as she fought to keep from loosing herself to the darkness. Only one thing kept her from giving in: knowing that Balthazar was alive. An eternity in the Grimhold was a price she was glad to pay in exchange for the life of the man she loved.

There were times over the years that Veronica was sure that she could feel his presence nearby. The feelings were few and far between, but somehow, thinking that he was close gave her hope. Hope that he would succeed in the quest to find the Prime Merlinian, and defeat Morgana. Hope that someday he would release her, and that they would be able to live a normal life together, like she had always dreamed they would. She should have learned long ago dreaming was for fools.

When that treasonous pig, Horvath, had released them from the Grimhold, Morgana overpowered Veronica at once, claiming her body. She found herself once again left in nothingness. She struggled against Morgana, trying to regain control of her body, but as the evil sorceress gained her power back, Veronica began to feel hers drain away. She was dying, slowly but certainly. Morgana was finishing the job that she had started so long ago, leaving Veronica wishing for the end. And then suddenly it was all gone. Morgana's presence had vanished; Veronica had regained control.

Her eyes shot open, their gaze landing on a face that she had waited a millennia to see again. Balthazar. She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him. Kiss him, touch him, make sure that he was really there and not just a trick of her mind, but the look on his face stopped her. There was something wrong with him. It took her only a moment to realize what it was.

"Balthazar, what have you done?"

She really had no need to ask. She knew exactly what he had done. He had taken Morgana into his own soul to save her. He was transparent, his plan obvious, but she wouldn't do it. She wouldn't lock him away in the Grimhold, no matter what he said to convince her. She wouldn't loose him again, there had to find another way. But there was no other way, and in their hesitation, Morgana was able to make her escape.

They put everything they had into their fight, but they were weak, and the boy was inexperienced. Veronica's vision blurred, and her magic faltered. One minute she was standing, and in the next she found herself on the ground, her body screaming with pain. She had been hit by Morgana's attack, leaving her helpless. She couldn't help but wonder how she was still alive. Her eyes flickered open and began to wander, taking in the scene above her. Somehow the boy was holding his own, fighting Morgana with almost superior power. Balthazar had done it; he had found the Prime Merlinian.

Balthazar.

Her eyes examined the area again, searching frantically for him. Finally they found him, lying still a few feet away. Calling upon every ounce of energy left in her body, she pulled herself and staggered to him, collapsing at his side. He lay here perfectly still. Her hands touched his rough cheeks as she cried his name, but there was no response. She shook his shoulders in desperation, but it was no use. Her eyes welled with tears as she became aware that he was no longer breathing. Her heart broke as she realized that his heart had stopped. She had been too late to save him this time.

Balthazar was gone.

A/N: So I decided that we needed to have a little insight into Veronica's brain, especially at the part where Balthazar "DIED" and the entire audience was sitting there going "he can't die, this is a Disney movie! Dave will save him!" But see, Veronica doesn't have the insight to Disney that we do, so she was convinced that he was dead, and that needed to be explored. I apologize if you are sad now.

Just a warning to anyone that has been following this so far. Basically I have been updating this every night, but that may or not be the case very shortly. Hopefully I will be able to update frequently for the next week or so, but then begins many College related activities for me and my first week of classes, at which point, updating as much as I have been will be hard. However I want to make it clear that I plan to keep going with this. I want to finish this if it takes me a million years! Hopefully not that long. So please bear with me, and review if you love me! Reviews inspire me.


	6. Unicorn

A/N: Prompt 6. Only 94 more to go! Oy. Anyway, this prompt was a bit hard for me at first, but I had a cute idea and I ran with it. This somewhat goes along with what I wrote for the life prompt. If you haven't read that chapter yet, this one shouldn't be any harder to understand, it will just spoil that chapter. As always enjoy and please review to let me know what you think.

**Unicorn**

Dave had been meaning to visit Balthazar and Veronica for days. He had been given two weeks off to get ready for his finals, and honestly besides the occasional coffee break with Becky, he hadn't done much other than study. He was thankful that Balthazar had given him time off from his training, but he really had no excuse for not stopping by sooner. Balthazar, despite being rather annoying at times, was Dave's friend, and you were supposed to visit a friend when that friend and his wife just had a baby. Or at least that's what Becky kept telling him.

So after his classes for the day had ended, Dave began making his way to the Blake house, but not before stopping at a toy store to pick up something for little Daralis. He had never been a little girl, and had very little experience in the field of infant entertainment, so he had really no idea what he should buy. He figured the fluffier, cuter and pinker whatever he got was the better off he would be. It was a good forty-five minutes later that he discovered a stuffed unicorn toy, hidden beneath a pile of Lots-O'-Huggin' Bears. It was fluffy. It was cute. It was pink. He bought it.

* * *

He knocked lightly on the door when her arrived at their home. With a baby less than a week old in the house, someone was bound to be sleeping, and he didn't want to wake anyone up. After a moment he heard the clicking of the lock, and the door creaked open.

"Well hello Dave, it's a surprise to see you here. I figured you'd stay as far away as possible until your two weeks were up." Balthazar said. He looked only slightly more tired than usual, and he seemed in a good enough mood. That was good sign. Dave had been afraid of what lack of sleep would do to his master.

"Oh I just wanted to stop by and see how everything was," Dave said in reply.

"Well come in then David. There is no need for us to stand around in the street like this."

Dave did as he was told, following Balthazar into the living room, and taking a seat in on of the armchairs next to the fireplace. Veronica had done an excellent job

decorating the place, managing to use many antique pieces without it turning into the Arcana Cabana. All things strange and magical had been banished to Balthazar's new basement lair in attempt to keep the neighbors from thinking that they were a bunch of weirdoes. It had worked until a rogue plasma bolt had shot through their wall into the fully furnished billiards room of the next house. That had been a hard one to get out of, even for Balthazar.

"Congratulations on becoming a father and all Balthazar," Dave said as the older sorcerer sat in the chair across from him, "How is everybody doing?"

"Thank you Dave, everyone is doing just fine. We're a little tired but Veronica and the baby are both perfectly healthy, and I'm as good as ever. They're both sleeping at the moment, Daralis kept Veronica up almost all night again and she's worn out. They'll wake up eventually, you can see them then if you'd like."

"Uh, yeah sure. That reminds me I brought something for the baby," Dave said handing the toy store bag across to Balthazar. The sorcerer opened the bag, and starred intently at its contents for several minutes.

"Dave what is this?"

"Well it's a unicorn," Dave said matter of factly. He didn't understand where the question was coming from.

"Well yes, I can see that. Is this supposed to be some sort of a toy?"

"Well yeah," Dave said, "It's a stuffed animal. You know they're cute, and fluffy and all that stuff that kids like."

"Let me tell you something about unicorns Dave," Balthazar said, his face stone dead serious, "Unicorns are vicious creatures. The material that makes up their horns is harder than steel. They attack without warning, running their prey through before tearing it apart. They have been known to be especially vicious around those they find weak, the young and the elderly. They are not fluffy, they are not cute and they certainly are not pink. Now Dave, are you seriously sitting there telling me that you found it fitting to buy my child a toy based on a vicious animal?"

Dave sat there stunned. He didn't know what to say.

"I'm… I'm sorry Balthazar, I didn't know, I…are they really that vicious?"

"No," Balthazar said, his face lighting up with a playful smile, " they're actually the most gentle and intelligent creatures to ever exist. But I had you going there for a second didn't I? It's to bad that you don't read your Encantus Dave, or you would have known I was lying. I didn't give you a week off from training so you could sit around and not learn anything. Thank you for the gift though, I'm sure Lissy will love it." Balthazar stood then, responding to the rustle of movement behind Dave's chair. "Hello Veronica dear," he said before walking out of Dave's line of vision to greet his wife.

The young sorcerer just sat there stunned. When would he learn?

A/N: Messing with Dave is just so much fun. No wonder Balthazar enjoys it so much.

This one took awhile; the next one will take longer. I mean come on, how the hell am I going to fit a squirrel in with a bunch or sorcerer's? Idk I'll figure it out. Until then please review and tell me what you think? Did you think the characters were OC? Do you also enjoy Dave's suffering? Should I include more Daralis in my stories? Are unicorns meant to be fluffy, cute and pink or to run people through? I won't know if you don't tell me!

Ps. It's time to play spot the Disney reference! Anybody?


	7. Squirrel

A/N: So this is my attempt at SQUIRREL! Sorry couldn't resist. Anyway this is the entry for prompt 7. Here's some Dave training and silly fluff for all of you, because I can't think of anything even remotely serious pertaining to squirrels. And yay for all of you who got my Toy Story 3 Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear reference. You all get virtual high fives! Ok I guess I'm done stalling now.

**Squirrel**

"I really don't think I can do this Balthazar. Look at it, it looks scared out of its mind."

"It's just a squirrel Dave, it's not a big deal." He was referring to the little bushy tailed creature that he had captured earlier that day in the park for Dave's lesson.

"But Balthazar, what if I hurt it?"

"Dave," the sorcerer sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, "the squirrel is completely irrelevant. I am trying to teach you something very important. Shapeshifting can be very useful, but it is also a very complicated process, and it can be very dangerous, even fatal. You need to practice this before trying it on yourself, and since you refuse to use that flea ridden drool bag that you call a dog, we're using the squirrel. So you need to clear your mind and focus, do you think you can do that Dave?"

Dave nodded.

"Yes, yes I can do that," he said. He began walking toward the Merlin's circle then turned back abruptly, "but what if I kill it Balthazar? You said the spell was dangerous."

Balthazar was about three seconds away from putting a plasma bolt through his own head,

"You won't kill it if you do the spell right Dave. Just remember the spell and you can transform it with no problem. Now concentrate!"

Dave did as he was told and went to his spot in the circle. Balthazar took the cage and placed it in the middle before retreating to the outside of the rings again.

"Now focus Dave. Clear your mind. Think about shifting the appearance or your target."

Dave was still unsure, but he knew better than to keep arguing with Balthazar, that only got him into trouble. He had read the spell; he knew how to do it in theory. It couldn't be all that hard. Cleaning his mind, he summoned his magic, and focused it on the rodent. Here went nothing.

* * *

"Well at least it's still alive," Becky said, starring at the, well what exactly was it?

"Personally I think it's an improvement. It's not like it was all that pretty to begin with," Balthazar joked, "he really should practice on the dog next. Maybe he could maybe he could make that thing more attractive too." Veronica elbowed him in the ribs from her spot next to him.

"Stop making fun of him would you? He already feels bad enough," she scolded.

"I'm not making fun, I'm being honest. Besides it's not like it's that big of a deal. It can be easily changed back, and if Dave won't do it himself, one of us can."

"Well you already tried telling him that and he won't listen. He's still mad at you for making him do it in the first place. I can't believe you convinced him that it was life threatening. No wonder he couldn't clear his mind. He probably thought the poor thing would explode."

"Well I wanted him to focus. His mind is always wandering around, and when he thinks there is something at stake he tends to try a bit harder. I was just doing my job as his master."

Veronica rolled her eyes and turned to Becky, "Why don't you try talking to him Becky? He'll listen to you. Please explain to him that everything is alright."

Becky nodded and got up from the table, shooting one last glance at the… creature in the cage. She shook away the willies that she got from it and set off towards the lab where her boyfriend was taking his frustration out on his coils. As she walked down the stairs she was lucky enough to catch the last few threads of the conversation above her.

"You know I think that we should just leave it," she heard Balthazar say, "I mean it's probably happier that way. What squirrel wouldn't want webbed feet and wings? It gives a whole new meaning to flying squirrel.

The comment was followed by the swift thunk of backhand against three hundred year old leather, and Balthazar's quiet chuckles of laughter.

A/N: So there you are, some useless nonsense, I hope that you were entertained by it. I think picking on Dave is my new addiction. I love him, but I love making him suffer more. Ok that sounds really creepy .Please review and tell me what you think.


	8. Monkey

A/N: More useless nonsense for prompt 8. Woo Hoo prompt 8. I'll feel accomplished at prompt 10. Anyway this one is another silly one, I know that's like three in a row, but all that comes to my mind when I think of animals is silliness. I did try to throw a bit of reflecting and flashbacking, and such into this one though, so maybe I get some credit for that. Hope you enjoy anyways. Review if you do!

**Monkey**

Balthazar hated monkeys.

It wasn't the way they looked, or the way they smelled, or the stupid noises that they made. It wasn't even the fact that they would throw their own feces at anything that moved.

No Balthazar hated monkeys because they were too smart for their own good.

No, not just smart. They were clever, cunning, tricky, and always up to no good, not to mention flat out mean. Every time he was around one of them something bad happened to him. Somehow they all knew who he was, and their entire species was out to get him. They seemed to take some sort of insane pleasure in it. Veronica refused to believe him, but it was the truth, and he had proof.

* * *

The first incident had been when he was only fifteen, just a young apprentice living in Merlin's castle.

Merlin had been summoned to the royal court, as council to King Arthur. He brought along his three young apprentices, claiming that he wanted them to see Camelot and that they could learn something during their journey. The truth was that he didn't trust them to be left alone for more than a day. And since they were to young to be left alone, to old to be put into the care of a nursemaid, and to unimportant to be let into the court itself, they were left with the king's jester, and the jester's monkey.

The three if them had been fascinated with that monkey. Maxim began throwing the creature scraps of his dinner in exchange for any silly little tricks it did. Veronica absolutely adored it; she removed the ribbon from her own hair and tied it into a bow in its soft fur and cradled it like an infant. After a while the primate decided that it was sick of her blubbering over it and crawled out of her arms and secluded itself in a corner. Balthazar decided that it was his entitled turn to play with the monkey, and really all he wanted to do was pet it. The monkey had other ideas.

It had swung its little body around just in time to latch onto Balthazar's arm, and with more force and strength than anyone would have ever expected from the little animal, he pulled the young man's arm backwards effectively breaking the bone.

The pain left him in tears as he cursed the monkey under his breath. Veronica came running to his side while Maxim woke the jester, who had managed to stay sleeping through Balthazar's hollers of pain. The jester in turn ran for Merlin. It was the first time Balthazar had cried in front of either of his fellow apprentices, but they didn't condemn him for the display of weakness. They stayed by his side until Merlin had come and healed the bone. They hadn't really been his friends before then, but after that day, things had changed.

* * *

The second incident was centuries later, while he was in the Middle East. He had been there on the trail of a boy rumored to have great power. The boy was said to be treated as a god in his village, and Balthazar thought it was worth a try. The boy was indeed gifted, but he wasn't the Prime Merlinian, so Balthazar left him as he was, an untrained sorcerer fooling innocent people. He had felt bad about it but he didn't have the time or the energy to waste on the wrong boy.

He later found himself in a market place not far outside of the village, keeping an eye out for magical finery and a good meal. He stopped at a booth selling jewelry and began to inspect the wares. It was silly, but looking at jewelry always reminded him of Veronica. It made him remember his last day with her.

He was observing a large Herkimer Diamond ring, wondering if it had any magical properties when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He straightened up a little and found himself face to face with a little capuchin, sitting happily on the display table. Despite being a full grown man, and the fact that this monkey was quite a bit smaller than the one that had broken his arm so long ago, he couldn't help but be shaken a bit by the presence of the animal. He decided that it was time to get some food and go.

Before he could bolt however the monkey raised a furry little finger, pointed at him and started shrieking. It was definitely time for him leave. As he turned to make a break for it he ran into a little man who started yelling and gesturing to the booth behind him. Balthazar couldn't made out exactly what he was saying, it was an unfamiliar dialect and the man was talking much to fast, but he could make out the general idea. Apparently the monkey was some sort of booth alarm, this man was the owner, and if he didn't get out of here soon, he would get his hand lopped off for stealing.

He tried to reason with the man, speaking slowly in every local language that he knew, but the man just kept yelling. He gained the attention of half the marketplace, including two very large men. It turned out they were some sort of local authority, and before he could translate "evil monkey", Balthazar found himself face down in a hot sand dune. He was still hungry, his clothes were now full of sand, and the next form of civilization was three days away.

He found out a week later from a passing caravan that the very same marketplace had been attacked the night he left but a mysterious man with strange powers and a very rich appearance. He had missed Horvath by mere hours.

* * *

He thought about it for a while as he watched the monkeys swing from branch to branch in their wire cage. He always seemed to come out on top when he did battle with the little devils. He could probably stand them for three minutes while Veronica fawned over them. Anyway, he knew the second she suggested going to "that wonderful place called the zoo" that he would have to face the damn things eventually. What was it with women and animals?

" Oh Balthazar," Veronica said from next to him, "look at it. Balthazar do you remember when Merlin took us to…"

"Yes I remember dear," Balthazar said cutting her off. She smiled apologetically.

From the far side of the cage, one of the monkeys caught Veronica's eye. It made its way across the cage and stuck its little fingers out to her. She giggled and offered it her own hand. Balthazar rolled his eyes, and leaned against the cage while he waited for her to finish being entertained. Finally the creature got bored of her and ran off.

"See that wasn't all that bad was it?" she asked him as they walked towards the food court. He shook his head no. It really hadn't been that bad.

"Good," she said smiling, " now lets get some of that, what was it called?"

"Ice cream."

"Yes, ice cream. I'm very excited to try that. Dave says that it's delicious."

Balthazar nodded and reached for his wallet. He didn't feel the familiar lump in his pocket. He began patting down his leather coat, searching for it, until he realized where it went. One of those damn monkeys took his wallet.

Balthazar hated monkeys.

A/N: I can't believe that this is the longest one I have written so far. I wasn't planning on it but apparently I had a lot to say about Balthazar's hatred for monkeys. I decided to pick on Balthazar for a change; I had fun with it. By the way to anyone who was interested, I decided that the first monkey was a rhesus macaques, the last one was a chimp, and if you missed it the middle one was a capuchin. For those of you following the next chapter will be more serious and hopefully up tonight or earlier tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did let me know! Until next time! Seeya!


	9. Good

A/N: Prompt 9. I'm making progress. Ok this chapter is pretty serious. I really like what I came up with for this prompt though. Hope you do too.

**Good**

Maxim Horvath had once believed in good, and that it what truly mattered in his life. He had believed in hope, and loyalty. He thought that the people around him were filled with goodness. He truly thought that they were doing what was right for the world with their powers, that they were servants to human kind. He had even believed in friendship once. He knew better than that now.

He had seen Merlin as good personified from the day that he had been taken on as an apprentice. There was no such thing. Merlin was just an old man trying to leave his mark on the world. Whispering ideas into the ears of a gullible king. Bending the world in his direction. He had taken on apprentices not to raise a force for good, but to mold their young minds until they were full of his ideas. He set them out into the world to spread his message. His image. He wasn't the wise old warrior that he pretended to be. He was just a polished rock masquerading as a diamond.

He had seen nothing but good in Veronica. Her heart and her soul had once seemed pure as the driven snow to him, but it was an act. Veronica was no angel; she was a tramp, a tease and a liar. She had seduced him with her charms and her beauty, making him believe that he was wanted, and loved by her. Then she had slung him away, rejecting his love and giving hers to another man. No not just another man, his best friend. She had torn them apart just she had torn his heart in two. No there was no such thing as good in a woman like that.

And then there was Balthazar. He had envied Balthazar for all the things he thought he was. For his power, for his compassion, for his wisdom and his strength. Balthazar hadn't just been his best friend, he had been his brother. He had trusted him and thought that he could always depend on in times of need. But Balthazar had broken that trust. His brother had betrayed him, taking away from him every dream he had ever had. It was only then that Horvath had realized what he really was. Nothing but a fool. A stupid lovesick fool, so easily manipulated by Merlin's words or Veronica's smile.

Even now he was a fool. Hundreds or years he spent searching for something that didn't exist, for a story made up by a dying man to keep his own legend alive. He would die alone someday, searching for a dream, fighting against the inevitable with some delusion of grandeur in his mind. Driven to his own end for his naive perception of good. Horvath pitied him, had had been that foolish once, but never again.

Horvath had known for sometime that he was not good, but more importantly he knew that he had not been good enough.

He hadn't been good enough for Merlin. The old man wasn't happy with Horvath as an apprentice. He found two more.

He hadn't been good enough for Veronica. She didn't want him anymore than anyone else did. She wanted someone better.

He hadn't even been good enough for Balthazar. Horvath was always getting in his way, not doing well enough to keep up with the mighty Balthazar. He could never live up to Balthazar.

In the all of them had thrown him away just as easily as a pile of refuse.

But he had been good enough for Morgana.

He had been exactly what she needed to fulfill her mission. He had done all that she asked of him, and he had done it well. In return she had given him power. And power, he discovered, was really all that mattered in the end.

A/N: Deep huh? Well I don't know how any of you felt about me centering a chapter around Horvath, but I kinda enjoyed it. This basically all spawned from the part of the movie where Drake and Horvath attack Balthazar in the lab. It's really weird but I think that because I'm an actor, I get really drawn in by moments of truly great acting, and the look on Alfred Molina's face when he said the line about Balthazar being Horvath's best friend made me go "oh poor Horvath". And I know that you're not supposed to feel for the bad guys but I do, and this spawned from that moment. Because no one tells Horvath's side of things, and I thought he deserved a little bit of reflection time. So hope you like it, please review and let me know what you think!


	10. Evil

A/N: PROMPT 10! I made it, which makes me excited. Only 90 more to go. So today our star is Drake Stone, why? Because I'm pretty much sure that he is the coolest evil minion ever, and he deserves more than he got in that movie. So for all of my fellow Drake Fans, here you go!

**Evil**

Drake Stone had always thought a lot of himself.

He had known from a young age that he was special. While the other boys in the orphanage played board games and read books, he set them on fire. Without matches. He had been a menace, and he and loved it. For ten years his antics were the only things that kept him from going completely insane. By twelve he had convinced every nun's in the place that he was some sort of possessed devil child. It wasn't hard; he had some very special talents, and they didn't go unnoticed.

In fact, word of the amazing things this child could do must have gotten out, because on Drake's thirteenth birthday a strange man arrived at the orphanage. He said that he was Drake's long lost uncle, there to claim custody of him. The nun's didn't give it much thought. They were happy to get rid of the demon child, even though they would never admit such a thing. Before Drake knew it, he was being shipped out with a man he had never met before in his life.

The man had been a sorcerer, and a Morganian (whatever that was). Drake hadn't been very impressed by the man's claims until he had seen what he was capable of. After that he had eagerly accepted his invitation to be his apprentice. He wanted to be able to access all the power he was being offered, and a chance to polish his very weak skills.

The man had been a tall, bald, pudgy fellow with a long grey beard. Drake never knew his real name. He only ever knew the old man as Sir. Over two years Sir had trained him, teaching him basic sorcery and the history of the Morganians. He rarely paid attention to the latter. He was more interested in learning spells and tricks then he was in hearing some centuries old stories about the lady Morgana and how she was destined to rule the world. He didn't learn much from his Encantus either. All he got from that was that Morgana was his one true master, Balthazar Blake should always be attacked upon sight, and that Maxim Horvath somehow managed to look extremely frightening even while wearing fur. All in all, he wasn't a very good apprentice.

Maybe that was why his master had left.

He had had a lot of problems after that. He was only fifteen when Sir left, leaving behind no clues as to what had happened to him. Drake had never had any sort of real relationship with the man, but he still couldn't help feeing abandoned. His mother had died of a drug overdose when he was three; his father had never been in the picture at all.

Sir, despite being constantly angry and rather disgusting, had made Drake feel stable, like he finally had someone to look after him. Then suddenly he had found himself alone again.

He had made the most of his loneliness, learned how to take care of himself. Luckily being a sorcerer, even with the small amount of training he had, had made things a lot easier on him. He would perform minor spells on street corners, passing them off as nothing more than well performed magic tricks. He could draw in quite a crowd, and all the practice helped him perfect his technique. As his card tricks and slight of hand developed into more complex tricks, so did his performance venues. Soon he wasn't just an amateur soon the streets, but a professional illusionist performing in well-known theaters.

By eighteen he had established a good reputation for himself, and a small fan base. Three years later he had a green card and found himself performing for thousands of people at a time in New York. He found over the years that his fame and his fans had somehow filled the void that had been left in his heart. For once in his life people truly loved him. He had everything that he had ever wanted. Thoughts of his past life had completely left him. He loved what he had become.

Yes, Drake Stone had always thought a lot of himself. He knew he was smart, talented, good looking, charismatic, sexy, and had great hair. And he found that there were a million other words that could be used to describe him as well. One word that he would never have used to describe himself was evil.

That was until Maxim Horvath walked into his life.

A/N: I know I kinda cheated. I wrote an entire story for a character based on one word that I didn't even mention until the last two sentences, but you know what, this is what came to my mind. Once again it came from an amazing movie moment. When Drake is signing the autographs and tells Horvath about the fan's and he's "Well they'll be dead soon," (Or whatever he says) the look on Drakes face was just made my heart ache for the guy. In fact with the exception of Morgana, you kinda feel for all the bad guys, they seem human and you kinda see where they are coming from. Plus Drake was sexy. So there. This is for him.

Ok, so for you people that have been following this story, if you couldn't tell, my favorite stuff to write so far with this challenge are either cute Balthazar/Veronica fluffy nonsense (sometimes with baby) and beating up on Dave. So here is my question for you, which one would you rather have more of, cause I have ideas for both. So fluff or another Dave beating? Let me know in a review, and while you're at it let me know what you thought of the chapter!


	11. Nose

A/N: OH MY GO IT HAS BEEN OVER A WEEK SINCE MY LAST POST. If you couldn't tell, I just started school, my freshman year of college to be exact (God I hate being a freshman!), and I have been very busy with little time to write, and for that I apologize.

So anyway, I really didn't get that much feedback on which would be a better idea for this prompt so I am just going with it. This one also has some Balthazar and Veronica parenting in it, more Veronica this time though, cause she would make a good mommy. I'm sorry if you're getting sick of baby fics, but I like em, so until I am demanded to stop, there will most likely be more.

**Nose**

"Hey is anyone home?" Dave called as he walked into the Blake's living room. Balthazar had recently given him a key so that he could come and study and practice spells in the lair whenever he needed it. He seemed to be doing a lot more independent work since the baby had come along. Balthazar always made plenty of time for their lessons, but with a wife and daughter to take care of, and a new shop to maintain, he expected Dave's endless hours of trial and error to be done on the boy's own time.

"We're in the kitchen Dave, " he heard Veronica's soft voice call out to him. Setting his backpack down by the coat rack, he closed the front door and followed her voice.

She was standing at the considerably large stove, stirring a pot of something, reading a cookbook that was suspended in air in front of her. Little Daralis was sitting in her bouncer chair on the island behind her mother, thoroughly covering the horn of her unicorn plushy in baby slobber. Her infant face lit up at the sight of Dave walking through the door, and she squealed with happiness. She had taken a strange liking to Dave. Becky said that it probably had something to do with his connection to her favorite fluffy pink toy. He hoped that was the case, and that she wasn't just laughing at his face.

"Morning Veronica. Where's Balthazar?"

"He's at the shop, " she answered turning away from her cooking for a moment, " he had a few appointments. Did you need his help with something?"

"No, just wondering. I'm not going to be here long anyway, I just wanted to drop by and pick up my physics book, I left it in the lair," he walked over to the island, giving his pointer finger to Daralis to wrap her little fist around.

"Hey there kiddo, how you doing? Look here, Daralis," he said wrapping his index and middle fingers around the sides of her little nose, "I got your nose!" he said pulling his hand away and replacing her nose with his thumb. She squealed with laughter.

"You like that huh?" he asked her. She only smiled in response. So he did it again, receiving even more laughter.

As he continued to "remove" and then "replace" the little nose, he didn't notice Veronica coming up behind him, studying his actions. At first she had been concerned that David was somehow mutating little Lissy's face. But when that proved to be no concern she began trying to figure out if he was performing some sort of a trick or if he actually believed that he was somehow detaching her child's nose.

"David, what are you doing?" she asked leaning over his shoulder, trying to get a better view.

"Oh um, it's kinda a game I guess, you pretend that your stealing someone else's nose, but it's just an illusion. See the thumb is the nose. It's kinda stupid, but it entertains kids, so I guess it serves a purpose. Daralis seems to like it, " he said, stealing her nose yet again to receive another chorus of giggles. When he turned back to Veronica she had her right hand in front of her holding up a peace sign, attempting to understand how to perform the trick.

"Let me try," she said to him, and he quickly moved out of the way.

"Look Lissy," she said placing her fingers on either side of the baby's nose like Dave had, and then quickly pulling it away and sliding her thumb in between the fingers, "Mommy has your nose!"

Daralis naturally began to crack up, and Veronica's face broke out in one of the biggest smiles Dave had ever seen.

"Look David, she likes it."

"Yeah, anyway I was gonna ask you, do you…" but Veronica wasn't listening to him. She was to busy playing the new game with her daughter. Both of them were laughing now. Dave decided that his question would have to wait until later.

"I'm just gonna go get my book and head out. I'll see you later Veronica."

He heard an barely audible "uh huh" as he made his way towards the basement.

* * *

Balthazar was exhausted when he got home. He hated dealing with fairies, and that was why he avoided it at almost all costs. They had left him tired and aggravated after hours of bartering with him. Really they were just out to rob him, and he knew they were, and they knew that he knew, so why they kept trying he really didn't know. He really hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with them again in the near future.

He walked into his house with a black cloud over his head, thinking that absolutely nothing could improve his mood. And then he heard it, the sound of the perfectly synchronized laughter of his wife and his child coming from the kitchen. His mouth immediately widened into a smile.

He walked into the kitchen where the laughter was coming form. Daralis was on the table in her bouncer and Veronica was sitting in a chair in front of her. He walked up behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders.

"What on earth is going on here?" he asked.

"Oh Balthazar look, Look what David showed me today. Ready Lissy? I got your nose!" Balthazar couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle a little as his wife and child both broke out in laughter over the silly trick.

"Exactly how long have you two been at this?" he asked. Veronica turned towards him.

"Only a few…" she cut off as she caught sight of the clock behind him, "goodness we've been doing this for two and a half hours. I need to finish dinner, and the baby hasn't taken her nap." Said baby, with the lapse in excitement, had begun to fall asleep in her bouncer.

"Here," Balthazar said picking her up, "I'll go put her to bed so you can finish whatever you need to do in here ok?" Veronica gave him her "my hero" smile and then turned to her pot.

He made his way back to the kitchen after putting the now fully asleep Daralis down. Veronica was dishing their dinner, gumbo by the smell of it, into two bowls and then set them down on the table.

"Looks wonderful darling, I am absolutely famished," he said going to sit in his normal chair.

"Ah ah, wait!" Veronica scolded. He stopped his tracks.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Come here first," she said beckoning him to her. He smiled and obliged.

"Are you going to steal my nose too?" he asked.

"No, " she said wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in close to him. "I'd rather have your lips," she said closing the distance and capturing his lips with her own.

A/N: Oh yes it is very fluffy. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. As always, please review and let me know what you think. Hopefully my next prompt will be up soon. Ttyl!


	12. Ear

A/N: I'm not dead yet! Monty Python? Anybody? No? Ok. Anyway I know that it has been a while, I swear that I am trying to get more of these up but I have been swamped lately with homework. I've been writing these out by hand in my math class (I do nothing in there) the problem was just that I didn't have the chance to type them up and post them. Plus I accidentally deleted my list of prompts and prompt ideas and that took some time to fix. But I had time this morning so here is some Dave and Becky fluff, and obviously some picking on Dave. Hope you enjoy.

"Why on earth would any guy have the urge to do that to themselves?" Becky asked Dave as he was walking her to the radio station.

"Do what?" Dave asked, confused. He did not have the slightest idea what she was talking about.

"Get those gage things gored into their ears," she said quietly, gesturing to the man walking in front of them. He was tall, covered in tattoos, had purple and black hair spiked up high, and he wore the biggest gages that Dave had ever seen in his life. He shuddered a little as he was reminded of that Drake Stone character.

"Do they think that having big gaping holes in their head is attractive? Because, it really isn't it, Becky said, pulling Dave out of his thought, "In fact earrings on men are just gross. They really should just not. Ever.

"Guys do that kind of stuff because they think that it makes them look cool. And tough, " Dave said matter of factly.

"You say that like you know something Dave," Becky said suspiciously, raising one eyebrow.

"I do know," Was all he said in reply. When he didn't elaborate, Becky stopped dead in her tracks, refusing to move until he told her more. He took only a few steps more before he realized that she was no longer with him and he turned to face her.

"Well," she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently, and crossing her arms. They stood there for a moment, starring at each other in a silent battle, Dave waiting for Becky to give up her questioning and Becky waiting for him to reveal whatever it was that he was hiding. He tried as long as he could to hold out but as usual he didn't stand a chance against his girlfriend. He cracked.

"I had and earring ok?" he admitted, turning away in embarrassment and starting to walk again.

"No way!" she exclaimed, catching up with him and stepping in front of him, effectively stopping him, "When?"

He sighed, a sign that he had completely given up trying to retain any of his dignity on this one.

"After I moved to the other school. The kids hated me there. I got made fun of more there for just being Dave, then I did for the Arcana Cabana thing. A bunch of the older guys that bullied me were all big and tough, well at least for seventh graders they were. Anyway, I used to watch all those movies and TV shows where all the cool badass guys wore leather and chains and had all those tattoos and earrings, so I thought maybe if I got an earring that would take me more seriously. I mean Harrison Ford had an earring, and who's more badass than Han Solo right? So I went with my cousin to the tattoo parlor that her boyfriend worked at, and he said that he could use the little gun thing and give me one for like twenty bucks. What I didn't know was that he had just learned how to work the damn thing and never actually used it on a person before. I got to be his practice run."

Becky just stood there mouth agape in shock, and trying her hardest not to bust out laughing. "Oh poor Dave," she walked up to him and cupped his face in her hands. He thought she was going to kiss him, until she began turning his head from side to side to inspect his ears,

"What happened to it?" she asked.

"I let it heal up," he said sighing, "apparently he gave it to me on the "gay side" and after that the teasing tripled. Those seventh graders dunked my head in a toilet and the thing got all infected. Plus, my mom was pretty pissed too. It was all just more trouble than it was worth."

"Well I'm glad that you didn't keep it. I like my Dave just the way he is," Becky said leaning on to give Dave a quick kiss before they continued on their way. As they walked towards the radio station, Becky couldn't help thinking that Dave would actually be a really sexy badass.

A/N: Well did you like it? I know it was kinda short but like I said I've kinda been in a time crunch, and I have some really good ideas for the next couple of prompts that I am really anxious to work on (they are Balthazar chapters because I have been neglecting him lately). If you liked it review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!


	13. Potato

A/N: Oh my god it is done! I have been working on this prompt for what seems like forever and it is finally done! Granted I will only get like 6 hours of sleep tonight (which for me is not a good thing) but it is DONE! I really liked the idea that I had for this prompt, but I admit it turned out to be more complicated than I thought it would be, and MUCH longer. In fact I'm pretty sure, if not positive that this is the longest one that I have written so far, it's about four pages long. So please read, and I really hope you enjoy it because it took me forever. Thank you again to everyone that has reviewed the last few chapters, reviews keep me alive. Now without further adieu here is Potato. Enjoy

Potato

Immoral acts like lying and stealing often meant very little to a starving boy of twelve. Balthazar Blake was no different. Perhaps deep down inside there was a pang of guilt at the crime he was currently committing. However the rumbling of his stomach and the thought of his family at home prompted him to keep reaching over the side of the merchant's booth to snatch potatoes and stuff them into his cloak.

He had to hurry or Hannibal would be angry again. Last time he had taken to long his older brother had boxed his ears. Balthazar really wished that Hannibal would do the dirty work himself, or any work at all for that matter. As the eldest it should be his responsibility to take care of the other two since their father had died, not Balthazar's. But Hannibal was a lazy good for nothing, even more so now that he didn't have his father around to push him. Balthazar hated his brother for that: for throwing away the opportunity he had, and opportunity that Balthazar would give anything for. Balthazar had wanted to run off long ago, to learn a craft or become an apprentice himself. He would have too, if it hadn't been for Adonia.

Their little sister was only about two years old now. Her mother, Balthazar and Hannibal's stepmother, had died in childbirth. Since then it had almost exclusively been Balthazar's job to take care of the baby, while his father worked and tried to find Hannibal something useful to do. They had survived that way, but only just and since their father had passed away things had gotten worse. Since then Hannibal had been kicked out of his master's house for losing a pure-breed horse, and then squandered nearly half of the meager inheritance that their father had left on women and drink. They wouldn't be able to afford the taxes on the land the next time the collector came around, and they rarely had money to spend on food.

So their survival was up to Balthazar. He would put the baby to sleep, and then go to the marketplace, pick some pockets, snatch some vegetables and then run home before she could wake up. Then he would cook up whatever they had, take care of the baby for the rest of the night, go to sleep, get up the next day and do it all over again. He lived his life like this day after day, just wondering how much longer he could put up with it before he just took off.

Satisfied with the weight in his cloak, he pulled it close around him so that none of his goods would fall out, and then snuck back around the booth. Once he had made it to the other side of the wooden stand he sprinted to the nearest wagon, and rested for a moment. He successfully cleared the booth without being noticed, which meant the hardest part was over. Now all he had to do was make it out of the marketplace without anyone becoming suspicious, which he would do just as soon as he caught his breath.

Suddenly he got a strange tingling at the back of his neck, like he was being watched. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw a girl on the other side of the road sitting on a cart. She was probably as old as he was, maybe a year or so younger. She was tall for her age and slim, she had long dark hair and wore a forest green dress. Most importantly, she was starring right at him.

Had she seen him, he wondered, and if she had would she snitch on him? He didn't want to wait around long enough to find out. He was about to make a run for it when their eyes met, no not just met, locked. He tried to pull away but he couldn't, it was like there was some sort of magic keeping him there. It was only for a short moment, but that little bit of hesitation was just enough time for him to get completely busted.

"Hey you boy, what are you doing there?" Balthazar heard behind him. He made the mistake of turning to see the merchant whose booth he had just robbed coming towards him. His heart leapt with fear. He reflexively pulled his hands up to hide his face from the merchant, and in the process let go of the cloak that he had been clinging to so tightly before. The potatoes that had been hiding there spilled now, falling to the ground like an avalanche. He had only once choice left: run.

He could hear the heavy breathing of the merchant as the man lumbered after him, yelling at him to stop and calling out to the others in the marketplace for help. Balthazar dodged several people as they came towards him, attempting to catch him. He was able to gain some ground, and when the footsteps of the merchant began to become faint he decided that it was safe to look back. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that the man was still trying to catch him, but he was quite far behind, had slowed severely, and looked like he was about to give up. He smiled as he looked back towards the path in front of him. His brain had only a split second to register the fact that there was a figure standing in his way before he had crashed into him.

Next thing that Balthazar knew, he was being hauled up from the ground by the back of his tunic. The man that he had run into had managed to stay standing, perfectly steady despite the force of the hit, and was now holding him the cloth tightly, preventing Balthazar from making another quick escape as the merchant caught up to them.

"Thank the lord sir, that you caught the little rat," the merchant said.

"What is this all about my good man," said whoever it was that still had Balthazar by the collar, "what has this boy done that has made you so upset?"

"He robbed me is what he did. I suspected that someone has been stealing from my stall for weeks now; today I finally caught the little bugger in the act. Nipped some of my best crop he has, and now he's dropped it in the mud and spoiled it. And I want my compensation."

Balthazar felt himself being lowered to the ground now, his feet touching earth. The man turned him around and looked at him. Now that they were on the same level Balthazar was able to see his face for the first time. He was old. To old surely, to have the strength to lift a boy off the ground like he just had. He had long hair and a beard of equal length; both were long and white. He wore long robes with threads that glistened and glittered even though the sky was overcast with clouds. His faced looked strangely familiar to Balthazar, and though he didn't know quite why that was, he was still stricken with terror at the power the man's very presence emitted. In the end it didn't really matter who he was because any way he looked at it, Balthazar knew, he was in big trouble.

"Is what this man says true boy?" the man asked, "Were you stealing form him?"

Balthazar didn't know what to tell him. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't think he could tell the truth either. And with such a powerful looking man staring him down he didn't think he had much time to make up his mind.

"No," he blurted out before he could think about it any further, "I…I found them." He was wincing on the inside at how mediocre his lie was, but he kept his face as stone cold unreadable as he possibly could.

The old one starred at him for a moment before a something of a grin spread across his lips.

"You're a bad liar son," he said calmly, "That's good."

The statement stunned Balthazar. He didn't know what to do, and all words had left him at this point. Fortunately there was no painful moment of silence because the merchant decided on that moment to begin braying again.

"You see? The boy is a thief! I say we call the guard so that they can cut his hand off and teach him a lesson!"

"Patience my good man," the old man ordered. The merchant obeyed. Apparently Balthazar wasn't the only one intimidated by this man. The old man turned back to him now.

"What is your name boy?" he asked. Balthazar knew better than to attempt a lie again.

"Balthazar sir, Balthazar Blake," he answered with as much courage as he could muster.

"And why did you steal form this man Balthazar?"

"For my Family sir."

"Your family?"

"Yes. You see sir, my father passed less then a year ago, and my brother lost his apprenticeship. We have no money, no food, the taxes have gone up on the land and we can't pay them. Worst of all is that I have a younger sister, barely out of infancy. She was left in the care of my brother but she depends on me. I did this to fill her belly."

"He's lying again," the merchant yelled, "full of lies he is. He's trying to fool us both to set him free so that he can go rob some other poor fool of an honest day's work."

"No this boy is not lying," the older man said, "he speaks the truth." He looked at Balthazar yet again, as if he was searching for something in the boys face. Whatever it was that he was looking for, he seemed to have found it. With a brief flash of joy and relief in his eyes he turned back to the angry merchant standing behind him.

"I will make a deal with you merchant," he said "Let this boy go and I will pay you for your suffering in addition to the price of the goods that you have lost. Will that be satisfactory to you good sir?" he removed a full bag of coins from his robes and tossed it to the merchant. The merchant opened the bag and analyzed its contents. Upon realizing that it was full to the brim with pure gold, he pocketed the bag.

"Deal," he said but then glancing back at Balthazar he raised a tubby little finger, "but I better not see him around here again." And then he lumbered off, as trying to get back to his stall before the old man realized that he was getting the short end of the deal.

The old man had finally let go of Balthazar in order to retrieve the money, and now the boy saw that he once again had the chance to sneak of, a chance that he was going to take before he lost it. Unfortunately for him, that old man was a faster than he looked. Balthazar, once again, found himself being held back by the scruff of the neck.

"And where, young mister Blake, do you think you are going," he asked turning Balthazar to face him, " Your debt to the merchant may be settled but now there is the matter of paying me back. After all, had I not intervened you would have one less hand then you did previously."

"And what would you have me do sir. I've already told you I have no money."

"I don't want money, you will pay me back in a different way. You see mister Blake, I have been searching for a very long time for three apprentices to work with me and learn my craft. While I have found the first two with relative ease I find that the third has been rather difficult to locate. Not just anyone can learn my art. They have to be very special."

"What does that have to do with me sir? I'm not someone special."

"Oh on the contrary mister Blake. Your crashing, rather blindly, into me this afternoon was no coincidence. I believe that there are no coincidences; everything in this world happens for a reason, and our meeting was no exception. You are the one that I have been looking for, and if you accept I would like you to be my apprentice."

"But sir, what about my family? I can't just leave them to starve." Balthazar said. He was starting to get very worried. He didn't really see what use he could be to this man, but he certainly had no other means of paying him back. Yet if he accepted it would mean abandoning his sister, and leaving her in the care of his reckless brother.

"You needn't worry about them. I will make sure that they are provided for. They will never want for food or money again, and a nurse will be hired to care for your sister, that is if you should choose to come and learn with me. You have my word on that."

Balthazar thought for a moment. He knew better than to believe strangers with ulterior motives, but for some reason he had no doubt that this man would do exactly what he promised. His eyes seemed to be filled with and unquestionable truth. And, in all honesty, this was exactly what Balthazar had always wanted; his family would be taken care of and he would finally be able to go out into the world and make something of himself. There was really no decision to be made, the choice was obvious.

"Alright," Balthazar said, "I accept. I am your apprentice. "

The old man smiled "Excellent," he said. He turned and began walking back the way that Balthazar had come earlier, "Your training starts today. Follow me; one of my other apprentices will be waiting for us by my cart. We must no keep her waiting longer."

Balthazar followed silently, his mind working at a million miles a minute trying to comprehend all that was going on, and wondering if he had herd the old man wrong or if he really had said "she". Who had female apprentices other than midwives? And then it dawned on him, probably the most important question that could be possibly asked in this situation.

"Um… Sir," he asked, still following but slowing his steps now.

"Yes what is it," the old man asked without even a glance backwards.

"Who are you?" Balthazar asked, stopping now, waiting for his answer. The old man stopped too, and turned to the confused boy behind him. He was smiling as if he were amused by the question.

"I am Merlin. And you, Balthazar Blake, are going to be a very powerful sorcerer."

A/N: So there it is. I really enjoyed writing this one so I hoped you enjoyed reading it. If you did, please leave me a review, I would greatly appreciate it. Let me know how I am doing. If you guys want to ask me questions or if you want me to know that you want to see more of a certain character or a pairing or more picking on Dave fics or whatever, let me know. I am always glad to incorporate reader suggestions. The next chapter will be up as soon as I can finish it. I am really excited about it so hopefully I can work on it soon. Thanks for reading! TTYL. XOXOX!


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